Martyr! is a 2024 novel by Iranian-American poet and writer Kaveh Akbar, published by Knopf. Set in Iran and the United States, the book follows a young Iranian-American man named Cyrus Shams as well as the constellations of people in his life. Cyrus, a poet intent on staying sober, searches for meaning in light of his parents' deaths. As the events of the book unfold, deeper layers of the characters' motivations and choices reveal themselves. The narrative spans different characters and timelines, showing how the characters' choices impact each other years later. Akbar also contextualizes the characters' struggles in terms of political and historical circumstances. This includes the Iran-Iraq War, the Iran Air Flight 655 attack (in which a U.S. Navy missile cruiser shot down a commercial passenger plane, killing 290 people), and the Iranian-American immigrant experience.
Cyrus's obsession with death and martyrdom leads him to begin writing a book. Stemming from his mother's apparently senseless death on Iran Air Flight 655, Cyrus desires a significant death in order to imbue his life and legacy with value. In addition, martyrdom is a method of combatting his previous addiction, his current drifting existence, and the flatness he experiences in sobriety. When Cyrus travels to Brooklyn with his best friend (and sometimes lover) Zee to meet a dying artist named Orkideh, he discovers truths about the past that change his life's trajectory. Cyrus is forced to come to terms with his mortality, the nature of his existence and relationships.
Martyr! is Akbar's debut novel, and it was met with critical acclaim. A New York Times bestseller, it was longlisted for the 2024 National Book Award for Fiction and the 2025 PEN / Jean Stein Book Award. Prominent authors and publications praised Akbar for handling heavy topics such as addiction and US-Iran relations with imagination and humor. As seen in the title of the book, Akbar balances intensity with absurd humor.
